ECS P35T-A Motherboard

Introduction:

You finally have had enough. You can't squeeze anymore performance out of the aging platform that you are on. Newer games just can't be played the way you want. I guess that means it is upgrade time on the Ponderosa. After searching high and low for a way to get the performance you want, you settle on an Intel solution in the form of a Core2Duo processor. You found that high speed memory and a new 1333 FSB processor, and now you need a board. Wow are they expensive! Well not this one! The ECS P35T-A can be had for a mere $99, so you don't have to trade your first born to get a system board. The ECS P35T-A features the Intel P35 Express northbridge chipset, as well as the ICH9DH southbridge. With support for the latest 1333 Front Side Bus processors, certification for use with Vista, dual 16x PCI-E slots, dual channel DDR2-800 support, and an eight channel sound solution, can you go wrong with this one? Let's find out by delving into this board to see what kind of performance we can achieve.

EliteGroup Computer Systems, more commonly known as ECS, has been engineering, designing and producing motherboards since it opened its doors in 1987. In 1994 it was the first Taiwan based motherboard manufacturer listed on the Taiwan stock exchange. Headquartered in Taiwan, it has manufacturing facilities and offices located in 60 countries across the globe.

Closer Look:

The box that the P35T-A came in features the company name, icons of the main features, and an exploding cube that takes me back to the 80s when the Rubik's Cube was one of the had-to-have items. The rear of the package explains in more detail the features of the board in several different languages.

Upon opening the box, you can see the bundle of parts and accessories on top of the cardboard support structure for the motherboard. Hidden underneath that structure is the motherboard, nicely protected from damage. The box is small enough to keep the board tightly in place during travel.

The accessory pack included with the board is just enough to get you started. The items sent with this board include a single IDE cable, one SATA cable, one I/O shield, a manual, a quick start guide, and the driver disc for the board.